levidale 0 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Just got a true vintage j45, does the back of the head stock not have the ser# and "made in USA ". My standard 45 has that. Anyone else? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guth 54 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Just got a true vintage j45, does the back of the head stock not have the ser# and "made in USA ". My standard 45 has that. Anyone else? At least some early examples don't have the serial number/Made In USA stamped on the back of the headstock, nor do they have any indication of True Vintage on the interior label. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
levidale 0 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 At least some early examples don't have the serial number/Made In USA stamped on the back of the headstock, nor do they have any indication of True Vintage on the interior label. My was harvest sept 4 2011. Is does have the j45 tv on the orange sticker. Just wondering. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blindboygrunt 288 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 congratulations for new guitar first gibson? what did u have before ? etc etc pics and clips also very cool :-) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jedzep 151 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Just got a true vintage j45, does the back of the head stock not have the ser# and "made in USA ". My standard 45 has that. Anyone else? Curious as to why you bought when you already had a J45. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
brixa 3 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 My 2010 J45 Standard was the same and I posted a similar question on here. The authorised dealer I bought it from in the U.K. said it must be down to the headstock stamp wearing down. They've seen aexamples where part of the serial number was visible but the rest wasn't etc.A year down the line the Nitro finish has aged well and under daylight I can now see the serial number and Made In U.S.A. It started to appear about 6 months ago. Reckon yours will be the same. Maybe the 'stamp' employee at Gibson needs to build up some muscle? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
levidale 0 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 congratulations for new guitar first gibson? what did u have before ? etc etc pics and clips also very cool :-) J45 standard , I'm a retard when it comes to posting pictures and stuff lol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
levidale 0 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Curious as to why you bought when you already had a J45. I just like the 45 line, my standard is awesome, I think this vintage is going to be a good one too. They sound a little different, the standard has a deeper sound. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
levidale 0 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 My 2010 J45 Standard was the same and I posted a similar question on here. The authorised dealer I bought it from in the U.K. said it must be down to the headstock stamp wearing down. They've seen aexamples where part of the serial number was visible but the rest wasn't etc.A year down the line the Nitro finish has aged well and under daylight I can now see the serial number and Made In U.S.A. It started to appear about 6 months ago. Reckon yours will be the same. Maybe the 'stamp' employee at Gibson needs to build up some muscle? My standard was the same too,very light but I could see it. The vintage I can't see nothing. Just wondering. It does have the serial # on the neck block inside the gutiar. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dchristo 32 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 my J45 TV does NOT have SN or made in USA on back of headstock.it has the custom shop logo on the bottom back of the headstock and the sound hole has a orange sticker with J45 on it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
levidale 0 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 my J45 TV does NOT have SN or made in USA on back of headstock.it has the custom shop logo on the bottom back of the headstock and the sound hole has a orange sticker with J45 on it Hmm,mine does not have the custom sticker, but has the orange sticker on it too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gotomsdos 11 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Hmm,mine does not have the custom sticker, but has the orange sticker on it too. Told that, J45 TV's sticker, orange, says just "Guarranted",not "Custom Shop", so does even a "...Custom..."guitar(like J45 Custom)' sticker. Very few models' stickers have "Custom Shop", my recent 5 STAR J35 does. So in my mind, as a whole, "Custom Shop" sticker is an icon for "real Gibson" model ? (But 1942 Legend J45 doesn't seem to have even a sticker, hehehe, the most real Gibson stuff ?) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guth 54 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 It's Gibson guys, there is no rhyme or reason to it. I remember when I first got my J-45 TV, with nothing stamped anywhere and no special designations whatsoever. I briefly wondered if it was a fake, even though it did come with the awesome pink poodle case. Then I went back to playing it and thought about the fact that it was one of the best sounding guitars I had ever played and decided that I didn't care if it was built by some kid out in his parent's garage. The guitar simply had what I was after and that was all that really mattered. Enjoy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
levidale 0 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 It's Gibson guys, there is no rhyme or reason to it. I remember when I first got my J-45 TV, with nothing stamped anywhere and no special designations whatsoever. I briefly wondered if it was a fake, even though it did come with the awesome pink poodle case. Then I went back to playing it and thought about the fact that it was one of the best sounding guitars I had ever played and decided that I didn't care if it was built by some kid out in his parent's garage. The guitar simply had what I was after and that was all that really mattered. Enjoy! Thanks, I just got done hammering down on it, it does sound really awesome. That growl is awesome! I think that same kid built mine too. Lol Quote Link to post Share on other sites
J-1854Me 32 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 ... when I first got my J-45 TV, with nothing stamped anywhere and no special designations whatsoever. I briefly wondered if it was a fake, even though it did come with the awesome pink poodle case. That's how it is with my 2007 J-185 TV too, it had the same California girls-type case, has slightly 'aged' lacquer and finish, and because there have not been nearly as many variants of the J-185 at Bozeman as there have been for J-45s, I initially wondered about whether it was a "True Vintage" too. The label says only "J-185". I called the plant and they checked the serial number and verified that it was a TV. What year is your J-45TV, Guth? Fred Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guth 54 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 What year is your J-45TV, Guth? Mine was made in early 2008. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Red 333 136 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 my J45 TV does NOT have SN or made in USA on back of headstock.it has the custom shop logo on the bottom back of the headstock and the sound hole has a orange sticker with J45 on it Mine's the same. I believe Gibson's thinking at first was not to include an impressed serial number and "Made in the USA" on the headstock's back because that is not a "vintage" feature (one from the 1940' or 1950's, the years True Vintage models take most of their features from). Similarly, the Legends do no have a serial numbers or "Made in the USA" impressed on them, or a label, because these weren't characteristic of a 1942 J-45. The legend is an exacting re-creation of a 1942 guitar. If I recall, Gibson started impressing the serial number on acoustic headstocks (and "Made in the USA") in 1970. Prior to that, "Made in the USA" was usually only impressed or inked on guitars made for export. An instrument's individual serial number (when there was one--some guitars had only FON batch numbers) was on the paper label. I believe paper labels were generally used only if the instrument had in individual serial number, like a high-end or artist series guitar, i.e. the Nick Lucas. Labels were white until the mid-fifties. They became orange after that. I'm not sure exactly when J-45's got a label. I don't think it was until the seventies. Maybe someone with more expertise can answer this conclusively. Red 333 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chasAK 11 Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 I’m not sure when the head stamping started but my former68/69 round shouldered j160 was head stamped. chasAK Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bicycle 0 Posted February 22, 2013 Report Share Posted February 22, 2013 i confused with mine too so similar to GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP J-45 TRUE VINTAGE. but the orange on the sound hole only say J-45 (no TV) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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